Manila Bishop Says Typhoon Recovery Must Speed Up For Pope’s Visit

MANILA, The Philippines—The auxiliary bishop of Manila has urged the Philippine government to speed up rehabilitation efforts in areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan ahead of a planned visit by Pope Francis next year.

A Filipino reaches out to a display cabinet containing relics of Pope John Paul II inside a shopping Mall in Quezon City, east of Manila, on April 24.

European Pressphoto Agency

During a recent news conference, reported by Vatican Radio, Pope Francis said he plans to visit the predominantly Catholic Philippines following a visit to Sri Lanka next January. Among his stops would be the central parts of the country that were devastated late last year by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake and Typhoon Haiyan, the deadliest natural disaster ever to hit the Philippines.

To prepare for the visit, the Philippine government “must strive to hasten the rehabilitation,” Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in a statement Wednesday, emphasizing that with the Pope in town the Philippines would be “the focus of the international community.”

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“It should be shown to the world that we did something,” he added.

Bishop Pabillo, is also the chairman of the public affairs committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, which provides guidance to the Church.

In his statement he pointed out that more than half a year has passed since Haiyan swept through the country, but still thousands of survivors remain in need of clean, safe places to live.

Haiyan claimed more than 6,200 lives and displaced up to four million people. Much progress has been made in clearing away debris, restoring electricity and making sure schools and hospitals are functioning. But many residents remain frustrated that homes and jobs have not returned fast enough, with many people in hard-hit Tacloban City still living in temporary tent shelters.

In the central islands of Bohol and Cebu, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in October destroyed many centuries-old churches. Construction to restore them is still in progress.

If the visit pushes through, Pope Francis will be the third pope to visit the Philippines after Pope Paul VI, who came in 1970, and St. John Paul II, who visited Manila in 1981 and 1995, during World Youth Day.

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